go fish (on card games at the end of the world)
by driftveil
Summary: The world shudders and collapses around them, and they... discuss the next adventure over a game of go fish. / Or: Ash and Pikachu have died a thousand times before. From experience, they know the best way to ease the pain is to think about anything else.


"What d'you think it'll be like in Hoenn, Pikachu?" Ash asked, passing the electric type a three of clubs. It was hard for Pikachu to manipulate the cards, given how tiny his paws were, but he managed well enough. "The professor said it's a lot warmer than Kanto and Johto, but a sticky warm, not a dry warm, which sounds kinda gross, doesn't it?" He wrinkled his nose. "_But_ there are lots of new pokémon, so it's not all bad. Got any fours?"

"Chu ka," Pikachu said. _Go fish._ Ash plucked a card from the pile between them, frowned at it, and added it to his deck. "Pika chupi, pika pikachu." _I hope the food's good._

"Yeah, me too," Ash giggled. Pikachu held up two tiny fingers and Ash handed three over with a sigh, adorned with pairs of red hearts, red diamonds and black spades. "Hey, no fair, I needed those ones! It's like you're doing it on purpose!" he groused, and Pikachu stuck his tongue out, ears twitching smugly.

"Chu pika pika, pichu pi," he cooed, setting down a book of four twos. That made three, one less than Ash had. _Maybe you should get better at the game if you don't want to lose._

Ash pegged him with his hat, earning a delighted squeal.

"_Whatever._ I'm still ahead, so _technically_ I'm still beating you." Ash plucked at the fraying hem of his t-shirt. "Anyway, Hoenn has really strong pokémon, and apparently their champion, Steven Stone, has a _shiny_ metagross! How cool is that? I've never seen a shiny metagross before. Heck, I've never even seen a _metagross_ before! Only in pictures." He sighed wistfully. "Steel _and_ psychic. Talk about _awesome._ Got any fives?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Pika- pikachu, pichu pi!" _We should battle it if we meet it!_

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Ash punched the air, drowning out the rumble of the cave system around them with a whoop. He plucked another card from the pile — a five of clubs — showed it to Pikachu and then reached out to take another. "D'you think I could convince Charizard to join us if we ever did? I feel like he'd like to take on a real life champion's pokémon."

"Chupi. Pika pika, chu pikachu." _Maybe. He's not normally one to turn down getting stronger. _

"Yeah, you're right." They were mostly quiet for a few moments, exchanging cards and shuffling their decks, laying out books and watching the pile between them grow smaller and smaller.

Then: "D'you think Mom misses us?" Ash asked in a small voice. Pikachu passed him a seven of diamonds and fixed him with a Look.

"Chu pika pika chu, pikachu, Pikapi." _She's probably just worried about how much trouble we keep getting into._ Pikachu gestured vaguely at the collapsing cave system around them, at the spiralling void outside the collapsing cave system around them, and Ash laughed until his ribs and belly ached with it. It was a sad laugh, panicky and resigned, but a laugh all the same. When he finally calmed, Pikachu was smiling fondly at him, and his chest felt like lead and feathers all at the same time.

"I _do_ have a habit," he admitted, tapping his remaining cards with the nail of his index finger. "_Legends,_ Mom's probably so tired of it."

"Pika pikachu, chupi pika!" Pikachu exclaimed emphatically. _She wouldn't have to be if you were more careful!_

They froze, looked at each other, and burst into laughter again.

"I can't let the world go if there's a way I can save it!" Ash insisted once they'd caught their breaths.

"Pichu kapi pika." _Doesn't mean your mom's not worried._

"Yeah, true." Ash squinted at his cards, bouncing his knee. "An' I feel bad, but it's sorta like I don't have any control of it, y'know? Like… remember when Ho-oh flew over us, and I got that rainbow wing?"

Pikachu nodded.

"After that point, an' after Ho-oh marked us, I almost feel like everything's been mapped out for us, right? Like I go from place to place, and then a _disaster_ happens, and suddenly _I'm_ the one who's got to save the world, like none of the adults can do it alone, or…"

"Pika _chu." Or at all._

"Exactly!" Ash threw his hands in the air. "But I'm not scared of it, 'cause it's the right thing to do and that's what's important. And I know Ho-oh'll always pull through, right? 'S why it _gave_ me these marks in the first place." They flared in the growing dark, a dim orange glow that warded off the creeping blackness. "An' I know we'll be fine after this, too, just like we're fine after _everything,_ and then we can go to Hoenn."

"Pikachu pi." _It's not let us down._

"Nah, it hasn't." Ash passed Pikachu a six, and he awkwardly pressed a book of them into the ground (he now had five, equalling Ash, and puffed his chest out when he did the maths). "Do you ever wonder why it picked us, and not anyone else? Like an adult, or…"

"Pika chu?" _Or someone who can actually win a __**real**_ _league?_

"Hey!" Ash shoved Pikachu gently, eyes fond. "I dunno, just… not a kid. It seems kinda weird, doesn't it? That a legendary would pick _me,_ of all people, rather than someone stronger."

Pikachu gazed at him contemplatively, leaning over to touch his hand with a tiny paw. "Pikapi… pika pichu chu kapi. Pika. Pikachu. Pika pika, pikachu pi." _Ash, you're the strongest person I know. And the kindest. And the bravest. Okay, maybe not the __**smartest,**_ _but you've got the biggest heart out of anyone I've ever met._

Ash rubbed at his eyes and smiled bashfully. "Thanks, Pikachu. You're the best partner I could ever ask for."

"Pikachu." _I know._

Ash rolled his eyes, but he still stretched to scratch the electric type's tail, earning a happy squeal. "You're good at this, y'know? This whole 'pep talk' thing."

"Chupi ka pika." A pause. "… Pichu Pika-chu." _I learned it from the best. The best being Brock._ Pikachu held up three fingers, barely visible in the oppressive, all-consuming darkness.

"That explains it." Ash grinned, before his vision went out entirely. "Go fish."

* * *

"It's getting close, now," Ash said into the empty air. The cave system shuddered and snarled like an ancient beast rising from an age-long slumber, creaking and groaning as it shook off its shackles. Outside, the wind howled, dragging rock and metal into a whirling, crushing abyss. "We don't have to wait long."

He put on a brave front, but Pikachu could hear the tremor in his voice, the way his throat clicked nervously when he swallowed. "Think Team Rocket got out?"

"Pika pika." _They always get out._

Ash laughed miserably. "Yeah, you're right. That's good, at least. They don't… they don't have Ho-oh like we do."

_Right?_ The markings had long-since dimmed, and when he prodded at them, they didn't light up like they used to.

Silence, save for the clamouring outside. Then: "Think it'll hurt?"

Pikachu made a wordless noise.

"Sorry," Ash croaked, voice breaking, and then laughed again. "I dunno, I've never had to… wait before. It's kinda weird, just sittin' here, knowing there's nothing I can do."

"Pika chu pi," Pikachu said gravely. _We'll be okay._

As though purely to spite him, their doom exploded above them with a thunderous crash. Boulders crashed down around them; pebbles bounced off their heads; and they choked on dust whenever they tried to breathe, lungs burning with the effort.

Seeking a reprieve, Ash pushed his face into cold dirt and crumpled playing cards and groped blindly until his numb fingers brushed warm fur. Pikachu crawled towards him, burying his face in his chest and curling tiny paws into his shirt.

"Pikachu?" Ash whispered, words small, and felt Pikachu exhale in response. "Will you stay with me until it's over?"

"Pika." _Always._

"Thanks," he mumbled. "See you soon. Love you."

(He didn't hear it back, but it didn't matter, because he felt it in the way Pikachu's grip tightened right before the end.)

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews/comments are always appreciated! I try to take all constructive criticism into account so I can improve any future writing I do. :)


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